Heinrich spindler



Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

HEINRICH srmnrnie, or B BLINGEN, NEAR STUTTGART, GERMANY.

PROCESS FOR WASHING AND CLEANING FABRICS AND THE LIKE.

1T0 Drawing. Application filed June 1, 1923, Serial No. 642,875,:1nd in Germany June 1, 1522.

transformatitni of the fatty acids into the insoluble salts so that they are prevented from fulfilling their purpose which. is to produce a cleaning effect. Furthermore the insoluble calciumand magnesium salts deposit upon the fibres, fabrics and the like, as a tough, viscous mass, enveloping the dirty substances so that they cannot be acted upon by the soap, and rendering the fibres brittle after the drying, dull in colour and less easily dyed. According to the degree of hardness of the water the normal progress of the washing process is therefore disturbed more or less and the qualities of the fabrics are more or less unfavorably influenced in chemical and physical respect. For this reason the washing water has been hitherto always submitted to a softening process before it is used for washing.

It has been found that the washing process will take place in a normal manner and Without any of the above mentioned disad vantages with hard or even very hard water, it soaps are used for washing which contain insoluble metal compounds of a feebly basic character such as for instance oxides or hydroxides of magnesium, calcium, barium, aluminium, zinc and the like. These insoluble substances can be incorporated in soaps in the simplest manner for instance by adding to the elementary substances of the soaps, before or during the sa-ponification, salts or double salts of the metals in question, which are soluble in water, for instance magnesium sulphate, such quantities of said salts being added as are necessary to react with the alkali to form the desired amount of metal oxide or bydroxide, so that the water is softened during the washing process.

As an example a determined quantity of fatty acids is heated with such a quantity of alkaline lye that the alkali present in the lye is sufficient for the saponification of the fatty acid and for the transformation of the soluble salt added.

The action of the water insoluble metal compounds may be explained according to the following theory, it being understood that the invention is not dependent upon this or any other theory: The hardness coustituents commonly present in hard water are the acid carbonates, (i. c., bicarboir ates) of calcium and/or magnesium. The finely divided water-insoluble metal compounds added to the hard water in the soap vehicle react with the said acid carbonates, thereby forming \v: 1.ter-insolul')le normal carbonates, as illustrated by the following equation CaO-l-Call (C0,) :QCaCCL-JLO The quantities of insoluble metallic combinations to be incorporated in the soap, depend evidently on the hardness of the water.

It has been found by exhaustive experiments that relations exist between the quantity of metal salts incorporated in the soap and the degree of hardness of the water inasmuch as if, for instance, magnesiun'i sulphate is added, each part of magnesium sulphate or part of magnesium oxide derived therefrom (if the usual and hereinafter stated quantitative proportions are adhered to), precipitates aquantity of hardnesscausing calcium and magnesium com pounds which corresponds to the degree of hardness of the water.

In washing processses generally a soap solution is used which contains 100 gr. of soap to 10 liters (:10000 c. c.) of water. As the soap contains on an average of 50% of fatty acid, and as 1 degree of hardness corresponds to 1 gr. of calcium oxide (equivalent to 0.8 gr. of magnesium oxide) in 100,000 c. c. of water, the said 10 liters of soap solution contain 50 gr. of fatty acid, and to each degree of hardness, 0.1 gr. of calcium oxide or 0.08 gr. of magnesium oxide. If therefore 0.17 gr. of magnesium oxide are produced by adding 1 gr. of crystallized magnesium sulphate to every 100 gr. of fatty acid in the soap, the soap solution taken as an example contains 008 gr. of magnesium oxide incorporated in 50 gr. of fatty acid and capable of expelling from 10 liters of Water 0.1 gr. of hardness producing calcium oxide corresponding to 1 degree of hardness; that is, every gram of water so that for a water of, for instance,

40 degrees of hardness a soap is used which has an addition of 10 parts of magnesium sulphate, or about 6 parts of magnesium oxi-de, for 100 parts of fatty acid, or, to make quite sure, a soap which contains an excess, for instance up to 4:5 or 50 parts of magnesium sulphate, or about 6 parts of magnesium oxide, for 100 parts of fatty acid.

If the soaps containing insoluble metal oxides or the like are used for washing purpose, the calciumand magnesium combinations dissolved in the Water are separated in the form of a loose powder without the use of valuable fatty acids and without precipitation of insoluble fatty acid combinations upon the material to be washed, so that the quality of this material is not influenced unfavorably.

I claim: c

1. A process of washing and cleaning fabrics and other materials, which comprises washing the material in hard water with a soap containing a quantity of an uncombined finely divided water-insoluble metal compound of a weak basic character capable of precipitating calcium and magnesium compounds from the water, so that the water is softened during the washing process.

2. A process of washing and cleaning fabrics and other materials which comprises washing the material in hard Water containing an acid carbonate of an alkaline earth metal with a soap containing anuncombined finely divided water-insoluble metal compound having a weak basic character capabio of reacting with the said acid carbonate, thereby precipitating the water-insoluble normal carbonate of said alkaline metal.

3. A process of washing and cleaning fabrics and other materials, as defined in claim 2, in which the said water-insoluble metal compound is magnesium oxide.

4.. A process of washing and cleaning fabrics and other materials, as defined in claim 2, in which the said water-insoluble metal compound is magnesium oxide.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature. I

HEINRICH SPINDLER. 

